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From what I understand, the previous owner had just refinished the car in a beautiful Ford Twilight Blue Pearl. Unfortunately the car was involved in a minor front end accident. The owner parked the car in a garage with full intention of repairing it. And as sometimes happens in life, the repairs were never done.
15+ years later .. and the vehicle ownership and responsibility to restore has become mine.
No immediate plans for the car just yet .. with the exception of sourcing parts needed for the front end repairs. The car will remain a rotary .. however I'm not sure which direction I will go with the powertrain:
• Rebuild the stock 12A using new 13B GSL-SE rotor housing machined to fit.
• 13B GSL-SE swap (I already have an engine cleaned up and ready for reassembly)
• 13B-MSP Renesis swap (I already have an engine cleaned up and ready for reassembly)
I'm open to suggestions and feedback!
Last edited by RX7_Renesis; Jan 29, 2022 at 10:05 PM.
The blue looks good. What all was damaged in the accident? Honestly If I needed a new engine in my 84 and I had a GSL-SE 13b already I would put that in with a Weber or Holley. Looks like a good project.
the Fenders are still available new and still 1980's prices, FA01-52-211D for the left and FA01-52-111D for the right.
i'd say get em while they last, but they actually still make them, which is kind of crazy
Thanks for the input guys .. and to those who sent me private messages as well.
The damage to the front end is mostly cosmetic (I think) .. probably not as bad as it looks.
The previous owner included the original engine hood. I will check with our local Mazda Dealer to get a price on replacement fenders (thx j9fd3s). I'm not sure if the front airdam is salvageable .. however I might like to replace it with a Mariah Mode Four Front Bumper/Airdam anyways.
Other accessories included with the sale are a performance exhaust system (brand unknown), a performance carburetor (brand unknown), a K&N style air filter, a front strut bar, and some 15" mesh wheels (as well as the OE Mazda wheels).
frame will need to be pulled, but its a pretty straightforward fix. be prepared for the frame guy to think you're crazy and ask if you got the car cheap.
you can see the frame is bent, the radiator hose is kinked
... the car was involved in a minor front end accident.
minor???
I'm open to suggestions and feedback!
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...urvey-1155492/
in your other thread, i didn't realize the car had so many repairs to be done. i also didn't realize that the 12A you referenced was going to sacrifice the 13B. for me, the decision is easy now.
The car was definitely beautiful once. It has a lot of amazing parts. The damage to the car is extensive unfortunately. It will likely require a new core support and a frame machine to start. Your first step is removing the hood, fenders, bumper, center panel, and lights and get an idea of how shifted the front of the car is.
Honestly, I would look for a good clean and straight chassis and use this car as a parts car to build another. I know its not what you want to hear but I've been building these cars for more than 20 years and it can be difficult to get them perfect again. Not saying it can't be done but unless the car were sentimental, I would use it to build another.
Your first step is removing the hood, fenders, bumper, center panel, and lights and get an idea of how shifted the front of the car is.
Both front wheels are pointing straight ahead .. so I'm hopeful the damage is limited to the core support and forward.
Those of you in the U.S. North East and here in Ontario will appreciate the challenges of trying to work on a car outside in winter weather. 20cm - 30cm (approx. 10") of snow today, and another 20cm - 30cm of snow expected again tonight. At least the car isn't as much of an eyesore sitting in the driveway covered with snow.
The weather has finally turned nice enough to work on the project car.
I'm suffering from a pinched nerve in my neck (getting old sucks) .. so progress is going to be very slow.
The previous owner verified this is originally a U.S. vehicle. A relatively rust free RX7 from the 80's are really scarce here in the salt belt of Canada.
So today I started pulling "stuff" off the car to see how bad the damage is. I removed the two nuts (driver's side) securing the energy supporter (FA0150070) to the front of the chassis. I also removed four of the six bolts securing the bumper impact bar to the energy supporters.
I was relieved to find out how relatively easy the nuts and bolts came off a 39 year old car.
I was thrilled to find out how little corrosion was on the nuts and bolts. Here's to hoping that the rest of the car is as rust free!
Once I have everything removed off the front end, then I will have a body shop assess the damage and provide a quote for straightening the frame and/or replacing the core support.
After that I will decide whether to repair or part out this project car.
i see frame rail damage, pass side. and probably even collapsing it. after a second look, the driver side looks tweaked also. it's that kind of stuff that will total this old of a vehicle. will need to remove all the damaged panels to really see the extent of the damage. also betting the core support is pushed back on that side.
i see frame rail damage, pass side. and probably even collapsing it. after a second look, the driver side looks tweaked also. it's that kind of stuff that will total this old of a vehicle. will need to remove all the damaged panels to really see the extent of the damage. also betting the core support is pushed back on that side.
THX rxtasy3,
The core support is definitely pushed in as well. I wanted to squirt a bit of oil or ATF into the spark plug holes and rotate the engine .. however the rad and shroud have been pushed back far enough that I can't even get a socket or wrench on the front of the engine.
I know I'm crazy for entertaining the thought of restoring this vehicle .. but there are so few 1st gen's left in decent condition, it would be a shame to scrap this vehicle. It would be a different story if the frame and body panels were all rusted out.
I think you will find over time, that one is done. The original owner clearly had enough experience to come to that same conclusion and that's why he parked it, and probably loved the car. Probably tortured himself to look at it all those years and be reminded of his stupidity - because that kind of front end damage is going too fast and smacking into something; i.e, avoidable...
When you get there, understand that MANY of the parts on the sides and rear and interior of that car can be used to upgrade another chassis and body which is straight. It's a lot of work, but will be worth it in the end, and worth more to you, because you made it happen.
I think you will find over time, that one is done. The original owner clearly had enough experience to come to that same conclusion and that's why he parked it, and probably loved the car. Probably tortured himself to look at it all those years and be reminded of his stupidity - because that kind of front end damage is going too fast and smacking into something; i.e, avoidable...
When you get there, understand that MANY of the parts on the sides and rear and interior of that car can be used to upgrade another chassis and body which is straight. It's a lot of work, but will be worth it in the end, and worth more to you, because you made it happen.
THX LongDuck,
You are most probably right. I've already gone over in my head what part(s) are worth salvaging and/or reselling.
I would still like to remove as many damaged parts as I can, and then get an estimate for straightening the frame. Such a shame to have 85% to 90% rust free .. and 10% to 15% damaged in an accident.
I do know where the previous owner lives (lived), and I suspect the narrow streets and curbside parking played a role in the previous owner pulling out at a blind intersection. And as sometimes happens in life .. priorities change and project cars end up taking a backseat out of necessity.
its pretty straightforward to pull that out and fix it, its just if its worth the trouble. in 2022, you want to take it somewhere that can measure all the suspension pickup points and such.
its pretty straightforward to pull that out and fix it, its just if its worth the trouble. in 2022, you want to take it somewhere that can measure all the suspension pickup points and such.
THX j9fd3s,
I've seen various RX7's on this forum that have been scraped by the owners .. and the reaction from other members is that the car in question was totally restorable. Personally I would rather deal with straightening the frame than deal with a rusted frame.
I wanted to work on pulling the headlight assemblies today .. however the weather man didn't co-operate.
Getting closer to calling a local bodyshop for an estimate .. and then it's decision time whether to start a build thread or to start listing parts for sale in the Marketplace.
I was able to pull the rad and shroud to gain access to the eccentric shaft bolt. I removed the spark plugs (A/C and beehive is definitely more challenging to work around compared to my SA). I added a bit of ATF and was able to turn the engine by hand.
A little stiff at first .. but after 1/2 hour of sitting I tried again. I can now consistently get "puffs" of air coming out of this old forgotten 12A.
I was finally at the point where it was time to contact a bodyshop. The bodyshop owner was willing to drive to my house to check out the vehicle in person.
And now for the bad news. As many of you had predicted, there is sufficient frame damage to determine that this one is done. Yes .. it may be possible to find a non-rusted non-damaged front end .. however it's not probable. Considering that I bought this as a project car, and that I have no history or sentimental memories attached to this car, mathematically it just doesn't make sense to restore it.
And now for the really, really good news .. there are tons of great parts on this vehicle that I will be posting for sale in the RX7 Marketplace to help other members with their builds .. either replacement parts or upgrades.
• 15" Mesh Wheels
• LSD with rear disc brakes
• Bronze tinted front windshield
• Complete GSL Air Conditioning
For those of you who are old school .. or just appreciate classic rock .. Another One Bites the Dust.
Got the 83 GSL Project Car loaded on a trailer and off to the body shop this morning. The guys already have it on the rack.
Here’s a couple shots of the donor car. It is (or was) a 1984 GSL-SE. Unfortunately this car will never be road worthy again .. however it has helped to ensure that many other RX7’s will be able to live on.
The guys at the shop were joking about how much they liked the driver’s door. There was actually no door or trunk glass when I picked up the donor car. I opted to use some duct tape to help minimize how much debris and small parts blew out of the car at highway speed. Anyone who knows Red Green will appreciate the Canadian humour.
The plan is for the body shop to try to straighten the front end of project car as best as they can .. and then decide how much metal needs to be excised and replaced.
Longterm plans for the project car will be to swap out the original 12A with a 13B GSL-SE engine which is already in the final stages of rebuild. I will also be swapping over the suspension and brakes and essentially turn the GSL project car into a GSL-SE. I’ve never been a huge fan of the SE factory wheels .. however they’re starting to grow on me.
The SE wheels were only available for 2 model years .. so they do add some value to the project and are period correct. I’m glad I kept a set of these wheels in my basement .. just in case.
Now that I have decided on a direction for this project, I will be starting a build thread for those who want to follow.
A huge shoutout to Marc (eprx799) for helping to provide some of the necessary parts for this project.
1983 RX-7 GSL - Hooptie
